Thursday night's wet weather did little to dampen the spirits of Strathdale's next generation of female soccer stars.
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In conjunction with Football Federation Victoria's Female Football Week, Strathdale Soccer Club hosted an elite female football clinic.
Past and present Melbourne Victory W-League players were on hand to showcase skills of the game to more than 70 players from BASL clubs Strathdale and La Trobe University.
"The kids loved the mud and they had a ball,'' Strathdale SC secretary and junior co-ordinator Rachel Oper said.
Former Melbourne Victory player and current assistant coach Caitlin Friend led the clinic with support from Melbourne Victory skipper Kayla Morrison and her team-mate Paige Szois
Maja Markovski and Colombian squad member Isabel Dehakiz - team-mates at Bulleen Lions - were also part of the clinic.
"The girls idolised the players,'' Oper said.
"They got to learn some skills and ask all the questions they wanted. It was a great night."
Oper, who was a member of Strathdale's inaugural senior women's team in 1997, said the success of the clinic was a sign of just how far female soccer has advanced at her club.
"Last year we had 60 female players from five-year-olds to women and this year we have 84 registered female players even though we don't have a senior women's team,'' Oper said.
"They're phenomenal numbers. To have all girls teams in junior competitions is new for Bendigo and it's growing rapidly.
"Growing up I always had to play in mixed teams and I'm sure it was a deterrent for some girls."
Oper said La Trobe University's female program was a welcome addition to the clinic.
"It was nice for us to develop the relationship with La Trobe while we don't have a women's team,'' Oper said.
"The La Trobe Uni girls loved the opportunity to learn something new from a different perspective."
